World Rugby has selected South Africa as its preferred host for the 2023 World Cup ahead of Ireland and France.

A team of experts carried out the evaluation against weighted criteria that reflect World Rugby’s key objectives.

South Africa scored 78.97%, while France’s bid came second (75.88%) and Ireland’s third (72.25%).

‘Based on the evaluation contained in this report, the candidate that scored the highest marks and is therefore deemed to be the optimal candidate to host Rugby World Cup 2023 is South Africa,’ said the report.

‘It is the recommendation of the RWCL Board of Directors to World Rugby Council that South Africa should be awarded the right to host Rugby World Cup 2023.’

South Africa still has to clear one final hurdle before the celebrations can begin.

The recommendation will now be put to the vote of the World Rugby Council in London on 15 November. All three candidates will appear on the ballot paper but World Rugby has stressed to its members that recommendation of the Evaluation Committee should be taken into consideration.

HOW THE 2023 HOST WILL BE CHOSEN
The result of the bidding process will be finalisted on 15 November. There are 39 votes to be cast. The unions/regional associations can cast their votes as they see fit, including splitting their votes or abstaining. The entire process is being overseen by independent auditors. The winner needs to accumulate a total of 20 votes from the following groups:

Sanzaar/Six Nations unions that are not bidding – three votes each (total of 21):
Argentina
Australia
England
Italy
New Zealand
Scotland
Wales

Six regional associations and Japan – two votes each (total of 14):
Africa
North America
Asia
Europe
Japan
Oceania
South America

Four individual unions – one vote each (total of four):
Canada
Georgia
Romania
USA

In the event of no candidate winning a clear majority (20 votes or more) after the first ballot, the bid with the least votes will be eliminated and another ballot will be called. The winner of that ballot will be granted hosting rights. If that vote ends in a draw, the World Rugby chairman can call for a further ballot or he can exercise the casting vote to break the stalemate.

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